Bighorn Mountains | |
---|---|
Location of the Bighorn Mountains in California [1] | |
Highest point | |
Peak | Granite Peak |
Elevation | 1,744 m (5,722 ft) |
Geography | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
Region | Mojave Desert |
District | San Bernardino County |
Range coordinates | 34°18′27.015″N116°37′30.080″W / 34.30750417°N 116.62502222°W |
Topo map | USGS Bighorn Canyon |
The Bighorn Mountains are a mountain range of the Mojave Desert and Transverse Ranges, located in San Bernardino County, California. [1] They are primarily within a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) protected area. [2]
They are an eastern subrange of the San Bernardino Mountains. The Bighorn Mountains are located north of the Morongo Valley, northwest of Yucca Valley, directly south of the Johnson Valley, and southeast of the Lucerne Valley. [2]
They support an ecotone or ecological transition zone, that including Yuccas and Joshua trees on the desert floor and stands of Jeffrey Pine at higher elevations. [3]
The 26,543 acres (10,742 ha) Bighorn Mountain Wilderness Area protects the north−central (BLM) and western areas of the range (San Bernardino National Forest). [2] [3]
A section of the eastern Bighorn Mountains is protected within Sand to Snow National Monument. [4]
The San Jacinto Mountains are a mountain range in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mountains are named for one of the first Black Friars, Saint Hyacinth, who is a popular patron in Latin America.
The San Gorgonio Wilderness is located in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County and into northern Riverside County, Southern California.
The Chuckwalla Mountains are a mountain range in the transition zone between the Colorado Desert—Sonoran Desert and the Mojave Desert, climatically and vegetationally, in Riverside County of southern California.
The Sheep Hole Mountains are a mountain range in the Mojave Desert, to the north of Joshua Tree National Park, in San Bernardino County, California. The mountains were once Chemehuevi hunting grounds.
The Kingston Range, sometimes called the Kingston Mountains, is located in Inyo and San Bernardino counties in the Mojave Desert in eastern California. The range reaches a height of 7,323 feet (2,232 m) above sea level at Kingston Peak.
The Clipper Mountains are located in the eastern Mojave Desert and protected within Mojave Trails National Monument, in San Bernardino County, California.
The Turtle Mountains, are located in northeastern San Bernardino County, in the southeastern part of California. The colorful Turtle Mountains vary from deep reds, browns, tans and grays, to black. The area has numerous springs and seeps. The Turtle Mountains are also a National Natural Landmark, with two mountain sections of entirely different composition.
The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is a National Monument in southern California. It includes portions of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges, the northernmost ones of the Peninsular Ranges system. The national monument covers portions of Riverside County, west of the Coachella Valley, approximately 100 miles (160 km) southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
The Morongo Basin is an endorheic basin and valley region located in eastern San Bernardino County, in Southern California.
The Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is a 31,000-acres (130 km2) native plants habitat and wildlife preserve located in the Little San Bernardino Mountains of the Transverse Ranges, in the transition zone between the higher Mojave Desert and lower elevation Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Due to its location within this transition zone, the area is especially high in natural diversity. The natural spring fed desert oasis found here is one of the 10 largest Cottonwood and Willow riparian habitats in California. It is also identified by the Audubon Society as one of the most important avian habitat areas in California.
The Piper Mountain Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located in the White Mountains 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Big Pine, California in Inyo County, California.
The deserts of California are the distinct deserts that each have unique ecosystems and habitats. The deserts are home to a sociocultural and historical "Old West" collection of legends, districts, and communities, and they also form a popular tourism region of dramatic natural features and recreational development. Part of this region was even proposed to become a new county due to cultural, economic and geographic differences relative to the rest of the more urban region.
The Calumet Mountains are a mountain range in San Bernardino County, California. They are north of Joshua Tree National Park and adjacent to the Sheep Hole Mountains in the Mojave Desert. The highest point is 829 meters.
The Mesquite Mountains are a mountain range in eastern San Bernardino County, California, near the border with Nevada. They are north of Interstate 15 in California and southeast of Death Valley.
The Santa Rosa Wilderness is a 72,259-acre (292.42 km2) wilderness area in Southern California, in the Santa Rosa Mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties, California. It is in the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert, above the Coachella Valley and Lower Colorado River Valley regions in a Peninsular Range, between La Quinta to the north and Anza Borrego Desert State Park to the south. The United States Congress established the wilderness in 1984 with the passage of the California Wilderness Act, managed by both the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. In 2009, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act was signed into law which added more than 2,000 acres (8.1 km2). Most of the Santa Rosa Wilderness is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.
The California Desert Protection Act of 2010 was legislation proposed by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. The stated aim of the legislation was "to provide for conservation, enhanced recreation opportunities, and development of renewable energy in the California Desert Conservation Area."
The Clipper Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Clipper Mountains of the eastern Mojave Desert and within Mojave Trails National Monument, located in northeastern San Bernardino County, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.
Castle Mountains National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the eastern Mojave Desert and northeastern San Bernardino County, in the state of California.
Mojave Trails National Monument is a large U.S. National Monument located in the state of California between Interstates 15 and 40. It partially surrounds the Mojave National Preserve. It was designated by President Barack Obama on February 12, 2016, along with Castle Mountains National Monument and Sand to Snow National Monument, also in southern California. It is under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management.
Sand to Snow National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in San Bernardino County and northern Riverside County, Southern California.